What makes a Sydney suburb liveable?

Recently, the Domain website, conducted a study on what makes up the features of the most liveable suburbs in Sydney in 2016.

The data was drawn from a number of places, such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other national sources, to rank suburbs on their desirability beyond the mere cost of the property.

16 indicators were used for the ranking, with Lavender Bay coming out at the top of the list.

Access to employment

Train/light rail

Bus

Ferry

Culture

Main road congestion

Education

Shopping

Open space

Tree cover

Topographical variation

Cafes and restaurants

Crime

Telecommunications

Views

Beach access

Some of the attributes of the top ranking suburbs were obvious, but the most interesting perhaps was the value placed on environmental factors, such as open space, tree cover and topographic variation, as well as views and beach access. These factors are often neglected in analyses of liveability in favour of cultural and economic factors, but environmental features greatly impact on the quality of life of residents and it is refreshing to see their importance recognised.

In terms of open spaces, the study takes into account the proportion of public recreational spaces, nature reserves and parks available in each suburb. The tree coverage element of the study examines the size of the tree canopy in neighbourhoods as populations generally prefer green leafy environments to concrete jungles.

To read the full article published on the Domain website, you can click here.